#20 - One month later
The sky had just begun to lighten, revealing a fish-belly white.
Kiyoshi quickly got up from bed, then went to wash up and eat bread.
If he could, he'd just eat soldier pills to save trouble.
Actually, soldier pills taste quite delicious.
The notion that soldier pills are unappetizing comes from Sakura's special homemade version.
It's not in the same league as the commercially available soldier pills.
This saves time wasted on cooking and washing dishes.
Unfortunately, soldier pills aren't cheap, not something Kiyoshi can eat daily.
Kiyoshi arrived at his usual training spot and began his practice.
About an hour passed.
A voice finally echoed in Kiyoshi's mind.
"You have acquired the skill: [Water Walker (White)]."
[Skill: Water Walker (White)]
[Requirement: Walk on the surface of the water with both feet as if walking on flat ground.]
[Progress: (Completed)]
[Effect: Your skill in controlling chakra is more refined in special terrains, and your chakra 'sustainability' is 5% longer than ordinary people.]
[Note: Can be upgraded later.]
[Upgrade Route 1: Integrate 'Tree Climber (White)' to upgrade to 'Serious Basic Training (White)'.]
[Upgrade Route 2: Integrate 'Tree Climber (White)' and 'Three Body Technique (White)' to upgrade to 'Solid Foundation (Green)']
"Two routes?"
Kiyoshi looked at the panel.
Whenever he had free time, Kiyoshi would go to the river near Training Ground 3 to practice.
His already strong talent, coupled with muscle memory, allowed him to quickly master these skills.
Of course, this was on calm water surfaces.
If he had to walk on water while fighting, he would need to train much more.
Some Chunin have to quickly form hand seals and extract chakra when suddenly transitioning to water during battle to stabilize themselves.
It tests a ninja's understanding of 'Seals'.
Almost all ninjutsu are inseparable from 'Seals'.
Because to release ninjutsu, one must 'extract' chakra, then 'control' the chakra to become ninjutsu, and finally release it.
The role of 'Seals' is actually to help ninjas quickly merge their spiritual and physical energies into chakra, for 'extraction' and 'control', rather than simply speeding up the hand seal speed.
From the first book, "Book of Lin," to the "Book of Array" at the end of Shippuden, the official guidebooks underwent many revisions.
Evaluations of a ninja's 'potential' and 'luck' were previously included, but these were removed in later guidebooks.
However, the eight abilities of a ninja have remained consistent from beginning to end.
This is enough to show the importance of 'Seals' to ninjas.
This is also why the level of any ninjutsu without seals is not low.
"I'll choose the latter."
Kiyoshi decided not to upgrade for now.
The result of upgrading now would just be getting a new white skill.
But if he waited a little longer and got the Three Body Technique skill, he could combine them into a green skill!
It wouldn't take too long to learn the Three Body Technique. Through tree climbing and water walking, besides the extra skill bonuses, Kiyoshi had already greatly improved his own 'Seal' ability.
After thinking for a while, Kiyoshi continued to train.
Now that he had acquired the Water Walker skill, next was to formally train in the Three Body Technique.
Some time ago, Kiyoshi learned the Rope Escape Technique and Concealing Technique from Nohara Rin.
Both of these are basic E-rank ninjutsu.
Among them, the Rope Escape Technique is the first ninjutsu to be learned in the ninja school.
After that, Nohara Rin told Kiyoshi the key points of the Clone Technique in the Three Body Technique, waiting only for practice.
After practicing for a while, the skill panel gave a prompt.
"You have obtained the skill: [Three Body Technique (White)]."
[Skill: Three Body Technique (White)]
[Requirement: Learn 'Clone Technique', 'Transformation Technique', and 'Substitution Technique'.]
[Progress: (1%)]
[Effect: Your understanding of the Three Body Technique is beyond ordinary people, and the effect will be 5% better than ordinary people.]
[Note: Can be upgraded later.]
"Not bad."
Kiyoshi's hand seals for the Clone Technique didn't stop, and he continued to extract chakra to release this ninjutsu.
The effect of the Three Body Technique will be 5% better than other ninjas.
If he continues to upgrade, will the Transformation Technique become indistinguishable from the real thing?
Generally speaking, the Transformation Technique is difficult to work against sensory ninjas.
According to the evaluation in the "Book of Array," White Zetsu's Transformation Technique is the most powerful of all ninjas.
Except for Naruto's malicious sensing, which can work, other methods are difficult to distinguish.
The morning light fell into the forest, and the birds on the branches curiously watched the figure under the tree.
"Huh, there's someone here?"
Hyuga Natsu discovered a figure, who seemed to be training.
"Isn't that Uchiha Kiyoshi from our class?"
Hyuga Natsu's dark green short hair swayed gently in the wind. About fifty meters ahead, a person wearing an Uchiha robe was forming hand seals.
"Don't mind him, let's continue to find a place to practice Byakugan."
Hyuga Tetsu, who was next to Hyuga Natsu, spoke.
Each member of the Hyuga clan has a pair of white eyes.
However, to open the Byakugan, which is to be able to use the power within the Byakugan, still requires a lot of practice.
"Yeah."
Hyuga Natsu nodded and withdrew her gaze.
The Byakugan has the ability of long-range vision and can see things within a kilometer radius. With practice, this distance can be increased.
However, this ability is not suitable for practice in the village or clan because it would pry into other people's privacy.
This is a very offensive thing and can easily be discovered by ninjas with good sensory abilities.
Most importantly, the relationship between the Hyuga and Uchiha is delicate, so it's best to have less contact.
The two left together.
Kiyoshi frowned slightly, feeling the gaze.
Looking back, he saw the two just turning to leave.
"Hyuga Natsu and Hyuga Tetsu..."
Both of these are supporting characters in the original work.
Among them, Hyuga Natsu is a member of the Hyuga branch family and also a future servant of Hyuga Hanabi.
"Never mind."
Kiyoshi shook his head and continued to practice.
...
In the blink of an eye, a month had passed, and Kiyoshi had completely adapted to life at the ninja school.
Late autumn was gradually becoming colder, nearing the end of the season.
Kiyoshi's house.
"Finally mastered it."
A weak electric current slowly flowed through Kiyoshi's body.
The current spread under his skin, constantly stimulating cells.
Kiyoshi looked at himself in the mirror.
His figure had already broken away from the skinny range, and the muscles that had begun to take shape filled his large frame.
Seemingly due to the influence of the Lightning Cloud clan's talent, Kiyoshi's development speed was faster than ordinary Uchiha.
He looked taller.
"If this continues, I'm afraid I'll develop into the appearance of a Cloud ninja."
Kiyoshi shook his head and left the mirror.
His skin wasn't dark; instead, his skin was closer to that of the white-skinned people of the Cloud Village.
It's just that he doesn't have blond hair, but black hair.
"The Clone Technique has been completely learned, and the Substitution Technique is also half full."
Kiyoshi opened the Three Body Technique skill and took a look.
Happy 2025, dear book friends!
